Dr. Dickson: “Lean finely textured beef is lean beef that is taken from trim (the part of the beef carcass that comes after you cut off the steaks and the roasts, etc.), and is used mainly for hamburger. The particular type of trim that goes into lean finely textured beef has a very high fat content. So normally, there would be no way to recover the lean beef out of these trimmings. This process is an efficient way of separating out the lean muscle tissue from the fat. The end result is a product called lean finely textured beef, which is about 95 percent lean beef.

“Lean finely textured beef is a good description of exactly what it is. It’s beef. When people come up with these other terms, like ‘pink slime,’ it is not accurate. Some stories have said this meat is unfit for human consumption, but that is not accurate, either. It is meat that has come from USDA-inspected operations. It is not sludge. It is meat that without being processed would go to waste. Yes, lean finely textured beef is produced at a lower cost. But the bottom line is that it is beef.”

How is it processed?

Dr. Dickson: “The trimmings are brought back up to approximately 100 degrees F, which is close to the body temperature of live cattle. It then goes through a series of separators – some of which are centrifugal in nature – similar to the processes in dairy operations that separate the cream from the skim milk. The end result is that is separates out the fat.”

Why is it treated with ammonium hydroxide?

Dr. Dickson: “Using ammonium hydroxide is a very specific process that was developed by Beef Products, Inc., to make beef safer. It is used as a gas. It is not a liquid and it’s not a spray. It’s actually injected as a gas into the meat, while the meat is being processed. The gas actually kills a lot of the harmful bacteria that could be present. It’s important to remember that meat isn’t sterile. And no matter what we do, meat will never be sterile, so using this gas is a benefit to food safety and improves the safety of the lean finely textured beef."

Is this process of using ammonium hydroxide safe?

Dr. Dickson: “Yes, it’s safe. This process went through a very extensive review by USDA. It went through the same type of review that any other process proposed to USDA would go through. The process was approved about 20 years ago, so this isn’t something new, this is something that went through rigorous review and was approved by USDA.”

What’s the difference between household ammonia and ammonium hydroxide?

Dr. Dickson: “In this process, ammonium hydroxide is injected as a gas, and the gas dissipates out of the product. There are videos of liquid ammonium being poured into ground beef. This is not at all an accurate representation of the processes that use ammonium hydroxide. It is not even close. This process refers to gas being injected into the product. The residual ammonium is well below the maximum level that USDA set. No meat processing practices use liquid ammonium directly added to or sprayed on the product.”

What about other chemicals in meat? Should we be concerned about those chemicals?

Dr. Dickson: “These chemicals are processing aids, and they are used in extremely small quantities. And they are not used in all meat products. Some chemicals have very specific uses for certain types of products. The USDA definition of processing aid is something that’s used in such a small quantity that it doesn’t leave a residue beyond a certain limit. When chemicals are used in meat processing, they are used at very low levels.

“Organic acids such as acetic acid, lactic acid, and citric acid are other common solutions used on meat products. These are naturally-occurring acids and help keep meat safe.

“Each chemical has a very specific application. For example, antimicrobials are used to kill specific microorganisms that might make people sick. They are approved for specific products in very specific amounts, and there are only certain applications for them. Again, we use them because meat isn’t sterile. And no matter what we do, meat will never be sterile, and an antimicrobial makes it safer.”

For reference, here are two videos - one from Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution where the phrase "pink slime" was created, and a response video from BPI (the company which developed the process) discussing how lean finely textured beef comes to be.

What are your thoughts on "pink slime”?

I'm appalled and I fear what else is in my meat. I am not surprised. There is always some new issue with our food.I understand that food processors are trying to use all the available meat – but I don’t like it.I had no idea, but it won’t stop me from eating hot dogs or ground beef.I’m glad the food processors are finding a way to use all the available meat. We need to do all we can to feed our growing population.I’m ok with it, since it’s USDA inspected/certified.

Guys, think of the treatment of ammonia as the detergent you use in your laundry, or the chemicals used in dry cleaning. At the end of laundry, your clothes are clean, and no chemicals left on them, and you wear your clothes EVERY day, safely. So, think of the ammonia, or ammonium hydroxide "gas" as the cleaning agent in thi product; more precisely, to kill the bad bacteria. Remember that at the end of the process, it is REMOVED so it does NOT remain in the product, and the residual amount (the amount that's left in the product) is so very small, smaller than the amount that could be found in your fart, or our surroundings. Ammonia itself is safe, or you wont have them in your household items. It can hurt you alright, or even kill you, like those bacteria in this product, "when you are smothered"
by it. In the event that the residual (remaining) amount in the product is high, it can, during cooking with heat, interact with the proteins, and reduce its bioavailability or nutritional value of the proteins, but this is still harmless. A lot of it would render the formation of lysinoalanine and the like (crosslink between the amino groups in proteins, like lysine and alanine), and can cause illness when you have too much of it, eating too long of it. This kind of crosslinking occurs also naturally in our body, when we age. I am a scientist, and I too, hate reading ignorant people claiming they understand or know everything. If this happens to be you, sorry. Please pick up some books if you want to act like one.

I work at a local meat market and all i have to say is that the difference between freshly ground burger and the crap in the stores is significantly different as far as taste goes. The meat we grind daily is fresher, healthier and I know what im eating.

Julie - I am certainly sorry to hear about this, and perhaps you should report this to the store where the ground beef was purchased. The addition of lean finely textured beef does not add a detectable smell of ammonia to ground beef, either before, during or after cooking. The residual ammonia in the lean finely textured beef is very low, only slightly higher than what would be found in regular ground beef. When it is blended in to ground beef, the actual ammonia levels in ground beef would increase by less than 15 percent, with the final ammonia concentration at a level which would be undetectable by humans. So if you are smelling a strong odor of ammonia, it is coming from another source. There are other ways that you could get an ammonia odor from beef, but these would all be defects, and not the result of an intentional process.
Again, ground beef should not produce an ammonia odor, whether lean finely textured beef has been used or not. The addition of lean finely textured beef would not add a detectable odor of ammonia to the ground beef.

What I have to argue with is the terrible smell when cooking my ground beef. I can't handle the strong ammonia smell. If it's so safe then why does it smell to cook beef? The product (while cooking) smells nothing like beef. I just noticed this significant smell as I ran out of the ground beef I received from the 1/4 cow we bought that was processed (without ammonia). I bought some Aldi beef and it reeks when cooked. I couldn't eat it.

Mickey: Thanks for your question on selenium in meat. Selenium is a mineral that is required in animal and human diets in small quantities. Consumption of very high levels over an extended period of time can cause selenium toxicity. Symptoms of selenium toxicity include hair loss, white blotchy nails, fatigue, and gastrointestinal upsets. That brings us to the question of how much is too much. One 3-oz. serving of ground beef contains 18 micrograms of selenium while one 3-oz. serving of pork contains approximately 34 micrograms. The tolerable upper intake level for adults is 400 micrograms per day according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. To reach this level, you would have to consume around 15 servings of meat every day (that’s nearly 3 pounds of meat). According to the National Institutes of Health, selenium toxicity in the United States is rare and identified cases were associated with industrial accidents or an excessively high dose of selenium in supplements due to manufacturing error. I am not aware of any research showing that hormone administration to animals affects meat selenium concentrations.
If you suspect that you are suffering from selenium toxicity, you should contact your health care provider for a thorough evaluation, which will include a determination of selenium concentration in your blood. There are other factors that can lead to hair loss, and it would be appropriate to discuss these with your physician as well.

I went on a high protein diet 2 yr. ago, mostly hamburger & pork, started losing all my hair. They didn't mention selenium which is known for hair loss so I'm wondering how much hormone is in all meat okayed by the FDA to enhance beef, pig & chicken growth. It's apparently way too much!

Trim comes from the outer surfaces of the larger cuts of meat, and yes, those outer surfaces may have more contamination than the larger cuts of meat. However, we use trim to make ground beef, which is why so much attention has been focused on finding ways of controlling bacteria in ground beef and lean finely textured beef. The trim used for lean finely textured beef does not have a greater risk of carrying harmful bacteria than the trim used to make ground beef. The reason why Beef Products Inc. developed the ammonia process was as a way of destroying any harmful bacteria which might be present. The ammonia is actually a very effective bacterial control process.

If you don't want the so-called "pink slime", don't complain when the price of ground beef goes up 15 to 20%. Or, just buy the 75% lean ground beef and you can cook out the fat instead instead of having the processing plant mechanically separate it for you.

I have serious doubts about the safety of pink slime even though the "authorities" are attempting to make us believe that this is a safe product. Why should we believe this, when the food producers in the U.S. are in bed with the FDA and the drug companies. The only thing that any of these outfits are interested in is $$ and they are using our food supply and the myriad of drugs available on the market today to keep us needing their products. Wake up people!!!!! They are All lying to us.

What I remain confused about is the use ammonium hydroxide. I understand that it is not harmful but it is added to ensure food safety. This occurs because portions of the beef trim come parts of the cow's body that are closest to the hide and the rectum, both notorious for carrying pathogenic bacteria. This additive addresses this issue.
Although the majority maybe the trimming from the prime rib or cut of filet, so is the sphincter. I do not believe that this product is bad, it is just that the public was not aware of this information.
Perception is reality

I've probably been eating this same stuff for years, and last time I checked, I'm not sick or dead from eating it. Somebody on a TV cooking show called it pink slime, and now everybody's freaked about it, because "pink slime" just sounds gross. That's all it is. People have indoctrinated themselves with anti-establishment to the point where if someone says something is good, clearly that person must be trying to sell it or benefitting somehow from the sale of it! You people need to lighten up.

Now that this process has gotten all this attention, What else is going on that we don't know about. I dont remember the usda askiny me if I would be ok with this process. I think I'll be grinding my own beef in the near future.

I do not want to eat any of this product. I think this is consumer fraud. Our food has no flavor. So much has been added and fed to the animals that the natural flavor is gone, I can not stant to smell meat when it is being cooked, much less eat it.

My personal litmus-test: will the USDA employees "in the know" eat it? If so, it’s actually safe.
I seriously doubt the human body could be *near* all that delicate; rare individual cases, sure--but on the whole? And we haven't died out as a species yet??
So long as ALL the *actual* contents of a food are on that label, I figure every adult can decide for themselves what to put in their own mouths. If you don’t recognize an ingredient, look it up. If it still makes you nervous, then don’t eat it. If enough people don’t eat it, production will eventually stop, because it’s not selling.

The Jamie Oliver video is full of lies. For instance he puts ammonia in the product telling his audience that is what is used in the process. The truth is the chemical is ammonia hydroxide which is naturally produced by all animals including humans, it is not household ammonia. There are more lies in the video which are too numerous to put in this comment.

I feel this product is safe. I think problems arise when people eat a 1/2 pound burger (w/ fries) 5 times a week and think that its the chemicals/high fructose corn syrup screwing them up when in reality its the shear amount of calories.

They can call it whatever they want, its still crap food! I, for one, will now grind my own hamburger. It is far beyond time that the people stand up for quality food. I will be growing as much of my own as possible.

I spent 36 years with the USDA and have observed the process and the end product. It is very edible and safe to eat and because it is rendered at a low temperature no one, not even the laboratory, can detect the presence of the product in ground beef.